40 THE ‘‘BLUING’’ AND THE ‘‘RED ROT” OF THE PINE. 
which is probably two years old. The sapwood is wholly converted into a 
brown, brittle mass. Such a tree is hable to be blown over at any time. 
PuatEe XII.—A group of ‘‘black-top”’ trees of the bull pine near Elmore, S. Dak., 
showing how the tops break off after the trees have been dead for some time. 
Many of the tops are visible, lying near the base of the trees. A single ‘‘ black 
top’’ from which the top has not fallen is seen at the left. The standing trunks 
are decayed for several feet downward from the point where the top broke off. 
The base ot these trunks is generally sound, and contains enough timber to make 
a good cross-tie. 
Puate XIII.—Fig. 1. View of a broken top, showing how it has broken off almost 
straight across. Near the middle of the figure a fruiting body of the ‘‘ red-rot”’ 
fungus ( Polyporus ponderosus, n. sp.) 1s growing out. Fig. 2. Base of a dead bull 
pine (Pinus ponderosa) near Elmore, S. Dak., showing a number of fruiting 
organs of the ‘‘red-rot’’ fungus (Polyporus ponderosus, n. sp.) growing out from 
the wood. These are the bodies variously known as ‘‘ punks,”’ ‘‘toadstools,”’ 
‘‘mushrooms,”’ or ‘‘frogstools.’’ The doubie one to the left is very old. Note 
the cracked upper surface. A section of the trunk made at the point where 
these bodies are growing out would appear much like Pl. XI, fig. 3. 
Piate XI V.—Sections of the ends of two cross-ties cut from dead timber, showing 
defects which are so serious that ties of this kind should be rejected. Fig. 1. 
Defective because of the ‘‘red rot.’’ Fig. 2. Defective because of a disease of the 
living timber. 
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